Aolai City is located in the northern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, near the Far North.
Night always comes exceptionally early here. As darkness falls, goose-feather-like snowflakes flutter down, blanketing this small border town in a layer of silver.
"Let's go with this one!"
Kong Deming pushed open the heavy oak door of " Snow Wolf Restaurant," and a warm atmosphere mixed with the aroma of roasted meat and spirits wafted out.
The copper bell hanging above the door rang out crisply, reminding the shop owner that a customer had arrived.
The restaurant was dimly lit, with a dozen or so wooden tables and chairs arranged in a pleasing, staggered manner.
The firewood crackled in the fireplace, and several locals were sitting around the bar drinking.
Upon seeing the four enter, they merely glanced at them casually before resuming their loud conversation, though their voices were noticeably lower.
Aolai City is just a small city, but because it is close to the Far North, many Soul Master who go to the Far North to hunt ice-attribute Soul Beast often visit it.
They recognized the Lord Soul Master, and dared not disturb him.
"Sit by the window."
Kong Xuan chose a window seat, from which he could see the continuous snow-capped mountains outside the city.
Huo Yuhao pulled out a chair for Kong Deming, whose short silver hair gleamed warmly in the firelight.
"I want roasted snow rabbit!"
Kong Ling sat next to Kong Xuan, her eyes scanning the menu back and forth.
The group ordered what they wanted to eat, and finally Kong Deming turned to the waiter and summarized, "Four servings of yak meat stew, two servings of roasted snow rabbit, and a pot of hot milk tea."
Just as the waiter turned to leave, the restaurant door was pushed open again.
The biting wind, carrying snowflakes, rushed into the room, and the fireplace flames flickered violently.
Three women walked through the snow.
The leader was a woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a spotless white robe.
She raised her hand and took off her hood, revealing a gentle and beautiful face.
" Lexuan, this shop looks pretty good."
The woman followed closely behind, her long, striking golden-red hair striking. She flicked the snowflakes from her hair and scanned the restaurant with her eyes.
However, when he looked in the direction where Kong Xuan and the others were, his gaze instinctively paused.
She then looked at Zhang Lexuan beside her. Their eyes met, but Zhang Lexuan simply shook her head and said nothing.
The last girl to enter was slightly younger, but still looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, giving off a cool and aloof vibe.
Let's grab something to eat here!
After saying that, Zhang Lexuan walked over and sat down at a table against the wall.
Anyone paying attention would notice that the table Zhang Lexuan chose was the furthest from Kong Xuan's table in the restaurant.
Clearly, Zhang Lexuan had also realized that Kong Xuan and his group were not simple people.
After ordering, with some time to spare before the food was served, Zhang Lexuan took out a small round ball and placed it on the table.
As they channeled their Soul Power, an invisible light shield enveloped the area around their table.
This is not an offensive or defensive Soul Tool; it's just a simple soundproof Soul Tool, a gadget researched by the Soul Tool Department at the academy.
Seeing Zhang Lexuan's actions, a hint of surprise flashed in the cold-faced girl's eyes. " Sister Lexuan, is something wrong?"
Before Zhang Lexuan could speak, the woman with golden and red hair beside her interjected, "The people at that table by the window are not simple."
The three of them were all students of Shrek, and the one in the lead was naturally Zhang Lexuan, who was known as the Grandmaster of the Inner Court. Although she was only in her twenties, she was already Eight-Ring Soul Douluo.
The woman with golden-red hair is Wu Ming, known as the " Golden Crow Saintess." She and Ma Xiaotao are known as the two active volcanoes of the Shrek Academy's Inner Court, both for their fiery tempers, and she possesses the cultivation of Seven-Ring Soul Sage.
The last one, a girl with a cold and aloof demeanor, is Ling Luochеn, Five-Ring Soul King.
The three of them came to Aolai City to carry out a surveillance mission for the Shrek Academy.
To put it simply, they're after the Evil Soul Master.
In fact, Ling Luochеn's strength was not enough to participate in this mission.
However, her Martial Soul is of the ice attribute, which has a boost and special effect in the Far North, which is why she was chosen.
As soon as Wu Ming finished speaking, Ling Luochеn couldn't help but glance at the table by the window out of the corner of his eye.
An old woman leading three teenagers—even with her Soul King strength, it was impossible to discern anything from them.
Zhang Lexuan then spoke up, "Those three youths should all be Soul Master; they're probably heading to the Far North to hunt Soul Beast."
"The elderly man leading the group was either an elder or a teacher, but I couldn't sense any Soul Power from him."
Upon hearing this, both Wu Ming and Ling Luochеn were startled.
Zhang Lexuan is Eight-Ring Soul Douluo; anyone she can't detect the slightest bit of Soul Power in is either an ordinary person or a stronger expert than him.
Clearly, the old man who appeared here with three teenagers could not be an ordinary person; he could only be Titled Douluo!
When traveling, one must be careful in everything. Zhang Lexuan had learned a very serious lesson from experience, so she dared not let her guard down at all.
When facing a Titled Douluo whose identity is unknown, one can never be too careful.
While they were discussing Kong Xuan's situation, the four people by the window also turned their attention to the three of them.
Kong Xuan and Kong Deming were the first to notice them; with their Divine Power, they could naturally sense their approximate strength.
"That's interesting!"
Kong Deming said something with great interest. He didn't lower his voice, but apart from the few people around the table, no one else could hear him at all.
He was somewhat interested in the Soul Tool that Zhang Lexuan had taken out, and his Silver Moon Divine Light Shield could also achieve a similar effect of blocking sound.
Although Kong Ling and Huo Yuhao didn't understand what was going on, they guessed that it was related to the three people who had just come in.
Kong Xuan then spoke up, "They're not very old, but their cultivation levels are quite high."
Kong Deming then gave a more specific answer, "One Soul Douluo, one Soul Saint, and one Soul King."
Kong Ling and Huo Yuhao couldn't help but glance at Zhang Lexuan. How could these three seemingly young people possess such cultivation levels?!
Even Kong Ling, who had been hailed as a genius since childhood, was inevitably shocked.
Kong Xuan said calmly, "Such geniuses, and three of them at once, I can only think of one place."
Kong Ling blurted out, " Shrek Academy?!"
Huo Yuhao's expression didn't change much at this moment. He was no longer the ignorant boy who would get excited beyond belief just hearing about Shrek Academy, the number one academy on the continent.
Although he didn't know what Shrek Academy was like, during the six months he spent at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, he felt that it was the best academy.
Kong Xuan nodded. "I just wonder what they're doing in the Far North?"
In fact, when Kong Deming revealed the cultivation levels of the three people opposite him, he already had a simple idea of their identities.
At that time, Shrek Academy only had a handful of young female Soul Saint, and the one with the golden-red hair should be Wu Ming.
Her aloof and youthful demeanor is quite evident, making Ling Luochеn undoubtedly the Soul King of this age.
As for the final Soul Douluo, he clearly heard the " Lexuan " she called when she entered.
Kong Deming said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about what they're here for. Let's just do our own thing."
Compared to Zhang Lexuan and the others' vigilance and tension upon sensing a potential Titled Douluo powerhouse, Kong Deming remained much calmer, as the three posed no threat to him.